KARACHI: Pakistan released 78
Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters, officials said on Sunday.
“The fishermen
were released from Karachi’s Landhi
jail,” an official of t
he provincial home department of Sindh, Naseem Siddiqui told AFP. The freed fishermen are expected to cross over into
India on Monday.
Siddiqui said “298
Indian fishermen are still imprisoned and will be released on completion of the verification of their nationalities by
India.”
Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.
The fishermen often languish in
jail, even after serving their terms, as poor diplomatic ties between the two neighbours mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time.
Relations between Pakistan and
India have plummeted since a deadly attack o
n an Indian army base in the disputed region of Kashmir in September.
